As a boy Williams found the role models he needed. Now he hopes to do the same for other children who need someone to look up to.

Jazz Williams speaks to students during an art class. Williams is a site supervisor at Guadalupe Parkway Sommerville Center in Lubbock. Williams went to the center as a child and now serves a mentor. (Zach Long)

Jazz Williams helps a student with homework on Wednesday in Lubbock. Williams is a site supervisor at Guadalupe Parkway Sommerville Center in Lubbock. Williams went to the center as a child and now serves a mentor. (Zach Long)

Jazzmond “Jazz” Williams grew up knowing what it was to need a life coach.

He was raised by his grandparents because his mother was not always available, and his father wasn’t present in his life.

He found all the coaching he needed at the Guadalupe/Parkway Sommerville Centers.

“I was 8 when I started here at the center,” he remembers. “It was a great, safe place to come and interact with older mentors — college students.”

Williams liked the field trips in general and the bowling in particular.

Dela Esqueda, executive director of the centers, knows the story of Williams’ progress while he was attending school.

“His grandparents brought him here,” she said. “He had very valuable mentors. Someone saw him playing in the street — this is the story I’ve heard — and asked him if he wanted to play in a league. He said yes, and asked his grandparents, and his grandparents allowed him to.”

The coach would pick up the boy and take him to all the games and practices. That’s how Williams became involved in the athletic component, she said.

Williams became so conversant with the scene at the Guadalupe/Parkway Sommerville Centers that he now, as an adult, has been placed in a position of responsibility there.

“Jazz is our site supervisor at the Parkway Center in East Lubbock. He monitors all the programs at his site to make sure they are compliant. He oversees also for other staff members. He is in charge of making sure that the property is clean and ready for the students. And he also drives one of our vans to pick up the kids,” Esqueda said.

Williams is in charge of the property and its operation, she said.

Children are following in his footsteps: Jariah Murry, 5; Jaquan Williams, 7; and Keke Murry, 9.

Keke is experiencing what it means to have a mentor and said so in a speech at a communication studies program at Texas Tech.

He answers questions readily relating to Williams.

“He is a good dad. He buys me shoes and clothes. He gives me what I want — all kinds of stuff. He buys me food, and found me a place where I can stay,” the youth said.

Williams’ zeal for the younger generation inspires others.

Lareta Anderson, whose daughter Tamyra Gonzales, 12, attends the center, said everything goes well in the after-school program overseen by Williams.

“He has a lot of activities that he offers to the kids. He really gets down to their level and lets them know they can succeed if they just push for it,” she said.

Williams inspires the children and lets them know they can do other things in life, Anderson said.

Sylvia Malone’s son, Antonio, 7, looks forward to going to the center, his mother said. Antonio has been going for a couple of years. Malone said she holds the staff in high regard.

“Jazz is such a great leader for the kids. He has given them opportunities to attend Texas Tech games, and they also have participated in a speech class at Texas Tech,” she said.

Add versatility to the list. Williams leads Boy Scout troops 405 and 224 at the site and coaches the Community Youth Development football and basketball teams of fourth-and fifth-graders.

“What I do for the kids is just being a positive role model,” he said of his vocation. “A lot of kids here come from single-parent homes, so I really just try to be like a father figure to them — just because I know how important it is to have a father in your life.”

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Mentor at the center

Jazz Williams: Began attending Guadalupe/Parkway Sommerville Centers at age 8.

Learned: Athletics from volunteer coaches.

As adult: Now site manager for the Parkway Sommerville Center, 405 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Mission: To be a role model for children who come to the center after school.